A Florida man was charged with human smuggling on Wednesday after a family of four was found dead north of the Minnesota border in Canada.
Steve Shand, 47, was taken into custody after United States Border Patrol agents stopped him in a 15-passenger van less than one mile south of the U.S./Canadian border in a rural area between the official ports of entry located at Lancaster, Minnesota and Pembina, North Dakota.
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Two passengers inside the van were identified as undocumented Indian nationals. As Shand and the two Indian nationals were being transported to the Pembina Border Patrol Station in North Dakota, law enforcement spotted five additional Indian nationals approximately a quarter mile south of the Canadian border walking in the direction of where Shand was arrested.
Investigators say the five reportedly told them they had been walking for nearly 11 hours and were supposed to be picked up by someone. One of the nationals had a backpack that did not belong to them and explained four people were missing after getting separated from the group overnight.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police later reported finding four bodies just inside of the Canadian Border and that they matched the descriptions of the four who were missing from the group.
Shand is charged with one count of knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien had come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law, having transported, and moved or having attempted to transport and move such alien.
Investigators believe the four people died from extremely cold temperatures in the area.
Shand is due back in court Monday, January 24 at 3 p.m.